The writers of this blog are not music critics, and they don't consider a second (or third, fourth or fifth) mortgage to be a perfectly reasonable course of action to pay for front-row tickets, but despite being a whole lot more middle aged than
...

The writers of this blog are not music critics, and they don't consider a second (or third, fourth or fifth) mortgage to be a perfectly reasonable course of action to pay for front-row tickets, but despite being a whole lot more middle aged than they were when they first put \x34Born in the U.S.A.\x34 or \x34The River\x34 down on the turntable, still feels like Bruce has something -- OK, a lot of things -- to say about our country and the way we live our lives, things that not a lot of other artists are saying. And whether he's talking about the knife that can cut this pain from your heart, the house that's waiting for you to walk in or what that flag flying over the courthouse means, he's nailing down feelings that are so universal that they can raise your spirits and break your heart at the same time. Plus, let¹s face it, the man rocks.

We know what you’re thinking: If Bruce Springsteen is 64, how old does that make us? But even if we all may be getting up in years, it’s comforting to know — as his stop in Rio Saturday proves — that Bruce is somehow rocking with the same ferocity that he has for decades. (Even if the rest of us are exhausted.) And beyond that, he’s still creating vital new music that has something to say about our country, our relationships and the world we live in.

So if anyone deserves a party, it’s Bruce — and we’re here to help you celebrate. Blogness correspondent Leann has created a series of free downloadable Springsteen party printables, expressly for your Bruceday Bash. Click below and get ‘em while you can!

Make crosses from your lovers and throw roses in the rain, whatever that means.

Get the band back together.

Sit barefoot on the hood of a Dodge drinking warm beer in the soft summer rain. Please be sure to put the Dodge in park first. Boy, did we find that out the hard way.

Go out to Highway 31, find a stick and poke a dead one-legged dog that’s been beat too much. On second thought, don’t do that.

Get your girlfriend pregnant and a) get a union job and a wedding coat; or b) run away to south Texas in a dirty oil patch and swear you’re never goin’ back. On second thought, don’t get your girlfriend pregnant.

Grab a child you don’t know to sing the chorus of “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day.” (Warning: Illegal in most municipalities.)

Yeah, that checkout girl you’ve been eyeing down at the supermarket for the last year and a half? Just ask her out already.

Take a long walk home, ideally from the edge of town. But if you live near the edge of town, start in the center of town and work your way out. Whichever it is, it should be dark by the time you get there.

Go out to your barn and, if there’s a tuba player there, jam with him.

Stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive, not necessarily in that order.

Dance with Courtney Cox. If Courtney Cox is not available, dance across the porch as the radio plays. If a porch is not available, dance with your shirt open like Latin lovers along the shore. If you don’t have a shirt, we recommend getting a white, v-neck undershirt (see No. 1).

One word: RAMROD.

“Open your ears and open your hearts. Don’t take yourself too seriously, and take yourself as seriously as death itself. Don’t worry. Worry your ass off. Have ironclad confidence, but doubt – it keeps you awake and alert. Believe you are the baddest ass in town, and, you suck!” (Words to live by from the birthday boy himself.)